Former FBI Agent Shares Back-to-School Safety Dos & Don’ts

A former FBI agent shares the steps she takes to keep her own daughter as safe as possible

Back-to-school season is in full swing. And while kids are concerned about homework, whether their teacher will be strict, and which friends will be in their class, parents have a whole different set of worries to think about—especially in the U.S., where sending your child to school is, heartbreakingly, not nearly as safe as it should be. That’s why one mom, who used to work as an FBI agent, is sharing some safety tips that parents will want to keep in mind as the new school year starts.

Tracy Walder’s TikTok video is going viral because it’s full of practical safety tips for the day and age we live in.

@theunexpectedspy

With the school year quickly approaching, i wanted to share some things i do to keep my kiddo safe! #fbiagent #specialagents #schoolsafety #schoolsafetymatters #schoolsafetyfirst #kidsafetytips #kidsafety

♬ original sound – Tracy Walder

The first tip is that Walder never puts her daughter’s name on any of her school supplies where it’s visible to a stranger.

“I think initials are fine, and if you want, you can put it on the inside of their backpack because I know these things get confused and tossed everywhere. But if you put it on the outside of their backpack, that is something that strangers can see and can refer to your child by that name and perhaps make them feel comfortable,” she says.

The next tip is to never put personal information on her daughter’s backpack, instead helping her memorize important information like phone numbers.

“Since the age of three, we’ve been really drilling into our daughter’s head to memorize our phone number, my cell phone number, and so she does have that memorized,” Walder says. “But if your kid doesn’t, I get it, it’s really hard.”

While many parents turn to smartwatches or phones as an alternative, giving them a way to contact and track their child’s location, Walder says she chooses not to let her daughter have a phone or smartwatch just yet. Instead, she keeps an air tag in her daughter’s backpack, and when they go to a crowded place, like a theme park, she has her wear one on a watch band on her wrist.

“It’s just something to think about if you want an extra layer of security,” she says.

The last issue Walder talks about is one that parents already spend a lot of time grappling with: social media. She says she has two profiles: one public and one private.

“Again, it’s people’s personal choice whether or not they want to share pictures of their children but even on your private account something to think about is not posting the location of your child’s school because you never know who is going to be able to see that information,” she explains.

Walder’s advice is good, but you don’t necessarily need two different social media accounts. For parents who want to share special moments with friends and family without making it a public display, there are private photo-sharing apps like Tinybeans (you can learn more and download here!). The secure platform puts parents in total control of who sees and interacts with photos and videos of their kids.